What Have We Been Up To?

Our interns excitedly returned to SITE in late August to begin another successful year. We hit the ground running in September and began working at our job sites. This year we had many wonderful community partners who welcomed us in and are provided us with the resources and tools to teach and practice valuable vocational skills in a variety of settings. We have had the privilege of watching our interns evolve and grow, working towards independence throughout the course of this school year. We will be celebrating 7 of our interns on June 4th as they prepare to exit SITE and move forward with their next exciting adventures! We are so excited for our exiting interns, but we will definitely miss them! We are all looking forward to the summer to reset, recharge, and rejuvenate before we embark on another successful school year.

Our community partners for the 2024/2025 school year included:

• ACME
• Shop Rite
• Delaware Children's Museum
• Maggie's Waggies
• El Diablo
• Gaudiello's Sandwich Shop
• Claymont Elementary Cafeteria
• Claymont Community Food Closet & Garden
• Mount Pleasant Elementary Cafeteria
• Claymont Community Center
• SPCA
• Progressive
• Delaware Hospice
• The Public Defenders Office
• Red Robin
• Food Bank of DE
• Brandywine School District Mail Room
• Culinaria

Our In-House Businesses at S.I.T.E. are booming as well:

• S.I.T.E. Sweets: Interns are making and delivering sweet treats through our Sweet of the Month Club run by Donna Goetz. Sweets is working on fulfilling an order of 200 chocolate covered pretzels for Concord HS's Prom!
• Inclusivi-Tees: T-Shirts are being digitally designed, printed, folded, and delivered to schools and clubs within the BSD, with the help of Jamie Parker.
• Smashing Blooms is designing, arranging, and delivering flower arrangements for events in the BSD as well as to individuals in the community, under the guidance of Heather Gebhart.
• Graphics: The work never stops in our Graphics Department as our Interns help print, copy, scan, shred, laminate, cut, rubber-band, package, and distribute items for our school district on a daily basis! Ever wonder where the signs and posters come from on the walls of the school or the PBS cash your child brings home? Well, your answer is...from S.I.T.E. Graphics Department, run by Mary Fischer.
• PAES Lab: In the PAES Lab, interns are gaining experience in a variety of skills from counting, following a recipe, construction and beyond!

(Sweets) https://sitesweets.square.site/

(Flowers) https://smashingblooms.square.site/

At the end of each week, we recognize and celebrate at least 1 intern for demonstrating positive qualities in the workplace throughout their work week. Some examples of the qualities we look for when considering our exemplary employee include: hard-work, helpfulness, patience, problem-solving skills, determination, team-work, thoughtfulness, and self-control. The winners receive 2 certificates: one for home and one for their professional portfolios. They also receive a t-shirt made by our own T-Shirt Business! In addition, our job coaches and interns get the chance to share some nice words about the Exemplary Employee. Please join us in congratulating the following interns for receiving Exemplary Employee of the Week during the month of May!

• Harris Corbett
• Zeke Wiggins
• Ali Abdul-Wadood

Our "Pay Day Fridays" serve as a a tremendous motivator for our interns to maintain appropriate behaviors and demonstrate positive character traits while performing job tasks during the work week. We have celebrated the hard work and effort of our interns by going on some fun and educational outings in the month of May including:

• • Friday, 5/2- YMCA & our final Bowling trip to Pleasant Hills Bowling Alley!
  • Friday, 5/9- YMCA & group games and a movie back at SITE
  • Friday, 5/16- BBQ/Picnic & Group Games
    
  • Friday, 5/23- YMCA/Hike & Cornhole Tournament at Talley Day Park
  • Friday, 5/30- Kickball game, Easter Seals Tour, & Group games and fitness at SITE

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Last week of school for interns: June 2nd-June 5th (Half-days).
• June 4th- Exit Ceremony 9:30-10:30
• Summer Program: June 23rd- July 31st

We have had a very rainy month of May which has led to the need to be flexible and change some of our plans for Pay Day Fridays this month! On 5/16, we had originally planned to go to Bellevue State Park for the annual picnic with the high schools. We pivoted and Ms. Fischer and Ms. Gebhart helped facilitate an amazing indoor BBQ for our interns! Ms. Gebhart grilled outside in the parking lot while Ms. Austin held an umbrella over her head. Instead of outdoor games, we played Cornhole, Wiffle Ball, and board/card games inside. The interns enjoyed a delicious lunch and truly felt the love that day!

In May, our staff at SITE really felt the love during Staff Appreciation Week! We had some delicious meals from Gaudiello's, Panera, and El Diablo, and received some awesome SITE spirit wear! Thank you to Mrs. Austin, Ms. Huntley, and to all of you for all of your extremely generous donations and support! We are so grateful!!

Autism is a lifelong disorder and there are ever more adults with autism who are in need of some level of supportive services. Some are capable of competitive employment with limited supports, while others may require daily one-on-one services. Autism Delaware's adult services were created in order to provide adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Delaware the opportunity to work and volunteer at businesses in their communities and engage in health and wellness opportunities

Their adult services are community-based and dedicated to helping adults with ASD find employment, volunteer opportunities. and other quality of life pursuits, and then supporting them in those activities to ensure their success.

The program is a collaborative process that includes the individual served, families, their staff, and all other support staff members, to develop and implement a plan that addresses the individual's support needs and meet individual goals.

Because this program is funded by the Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDDS) and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), as well as Autism Delaware, participants must receive a formal referral packet from either a DDDDS representative or a DVR counselor to begin.